Village of Lombard

Roosevelt Road Water Main Replacement

A Creative Solution to a Challenging Problem

The Village of Lombard had experienced frequent water main breaks along the busy Roosevelt Road corridor requiring expensive and difficult repairs that were disruptive to traffic and local businesses. This project provided an innovative solution to rehabilitate the water main with minimal construction impact to traffic, businesses, the environment, and other utilities. The project involved inserting a resin-impregnated liner in 16,000 feet of existing piping. The construction involved minimal excavation at water main access points and the installation of a temporary at-grade water main for continuous service to local businesses. The final product restored pipe capacity and ensured quality water.

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Analyzing a Variety of Diverse of Options

Civiltech provided Phase I and Phase II Engineering Services on this challenging project. During the preliminary engineering phase, Civiltech developed and evaluated multiple options including replacement of the main under the Roosevelt Road pavement, replacement of the water main in the parkways by open cutting, horizontal directional drilling of a new water main in the parkway, replacement within proposed, private easements outside of the roadway right of way, and lining of the water main with a cured-in-place pipe. The lining installation was selected as the preferred option. While evaluating the lining option, Civiltech researched multiple companies that offered variations of pipe lining solutions and invited those companies to present their product and installation method, ensuring that the Village fully understood the differences in product choices.

Establishing Design Criteria and Standards

The primary objective of the Preliminary Engineering Phase was to develop a conceptual improvement plan which fulfilled the requirements for processing and funding the project and met the requirements of the Village, the IEPA, and IDOT. Civiltech’s role included initial meetings with the Village and IDOT, obtaining available record information, and performing a field review of the project area. Prior to developing the multiple options described above, and based on items obtained through the data collection, review, and field work, Civiltech developed relevant design criteria and standards for use in proceeding with the preliminary engineering stage of the Project. Based on the established design criteria and standards, Civiltech prepared a Project Development Report (PDR) that was submitted to the Village for review and comment, followed by the finalized PDR, which served as the basis for the Design Engineering Phase of the project.

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Design Engineering

Civiltech’s Design Engineering Services included the preparation of Preliminary, Pre-Final, and Final contract plans and specifications. Civiltech also provided proactive utility coordination. Plans and special provisions were submitted to the IEPA for project permitting, and Civiltech worked with the Village to petition for the Administrative Code to be amended to allow for the lining of the water main at locations where the existing water main was not in compliance with separation requirements.

Coordination and Communication

Roosevelt Road is under the jurisdiction of IDOT. Civiltech’s design team provided proactive coordination as part of the IDOT permit process and ensured that the project schedule was communicated with the Department. Civiltech’s role included submitting the project to IDOT for permit review and actively monitoring the approval process. During the Design Engineering Phase, Civiltech continued to work with the Village of Lombard on the Public Involvement Plan to gather and disseminate the necessary information to the project stakeholders.

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Installation in a Commercial Corridor

The installation of a lining to rehabilitate a water main is innovative due to its being installed within a busy commercial corridor. Most previous applications in Illinois have been in residential projects. One of the main challenges is to maintain water service to the properties while the water main is shut down. In a typical lining project in a residential neighborhood, a small temporary main in placed along the curb and gutter. Maintaining the required water service to commercial buildings is more difficult due to a variety of factors including a lack of exterior hose bibs, higher usage needs, and fire suppression systems. To address the issue of the higher flows needed through this corridor, large temporary main was required, and to minimize the impact to traffic entering and exiting the businesses, the temporary main was required to be installed in a shallow trench across the driveways. The trench was then patched in order to provide a smooth access.

Benefits of the Design Approach

The use of pipe lining in lieu of water main replacement was a successful design approach as full replacement would have been extremely difficult due to conflicts with other existing utilities in crowded right of ways and the necessity to cross under a major road. It also minimized the amount of excavation required to do the work. The project proved far less intrusive during construction than it would have been with full water main replacement. The length of the water main (16,000 feet), the traffic volumes on Roosevelt Road (over 40,000 vehicles per day), and the excavation that would have been required to replace the water main (over 20,000 cubic yards) would have resulted in extensive traffic impacts and disruptions. The project team worked collectively to keep the public informed about the project, its ramifications, and its benefits.